Ho Iat Seng meets with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
Macau is different from the mainland cities and that difference is reflected in the autonomy and the liberties Macau citizens enjoy, the Chief Executive (CE), Ho Iat Seng, said Saturday in a media session in which he evaluated his Portugal visit and responded to media questions.
“We cannot say that there is a lack of freedom, Macau is different from other [Chinese cities, and citizens] can scold the government, criticize and have their own opinions,” Ho was cited as saying in a report by the Portuguese news agency, Lusa.
“We are not equated with any city in mainland China,” Ho added, stressing that the respect for the “One Country, Two Systems” principle continues to grant autonomy and political freedoms to Macau as well as to the other Special Administrative Region (SAR), Hong Kong.
For the CE, this autonomy and political freedom allows, for instance, citizens to express their ideas and opinions freely as well as allow the media to exercise their freedom more broadly.
“[Although] some people may have the feeling that Macau does not differ much from the rest of China, we, as the government of Macau, will not comment upon nor criticize these opinions,” Ho was quoted saying by Lusa, adding that neither himself nor anyone on his behalf, including the Government Information Bureau (GCS), has ever called any media outlet to tell them that they cannot write or report on any specific topic.
“You know very well that you were never limited, I, Ho Iat Seng, never called you to say that you cannot cover the news,” the CE said, reaffirming the existence of press freedom in Macau in the same way as it always occurred in the past.
Addressing also the topic of the Basic Law, Ho said that it has been in force and without problems in its application for the past 30 years (since the promulgation), noting that in his opinion it is not likely to undergo many changes.
At the same encounter with the media Ho noted the importance of the first visit from a Macau delegation abroad to be precise to Portugal, a trip through which he said he “honored the profound and long-standing friendly ties between Macau and Portugal.”
The leader of the local government noted that the two sides had seen growing cooperation in various areas and that he expects this cooperation to continue and become even stronger, reinforcing Macau’s role as a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries.
The Portugal trip has been an opportunity to explain to people overseas the fresh development opportunities available in Macau under the new situation, aiming also to complement the city’s overall effort regarding appropriate economic diversification, the GCS noted in a press statement about the visit.
While in Lisbon, Ho had meetings with, respectively, the President, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Portuguese Republic; with the Ambassador of China to Portugal; and with the Mayor of Lisbon. The conclusion drawn from each of these meetings was that Macau and Portugal should continue to deepen their cooperation and explore new opportunities relating to economics and trade, innovation in science and technology, healthcare and culture, GCS also stated.
The CE also revealed that he had invited Portugal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs to visit Macau and to help host the seventh meeting of the Macau-Portugal Joint Committee.
In addition, Macau is also striving to organize, within this year or next year, an in-person edition of the Ministerial Meeting of the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking Countries, an event to which Ho also extended an invitation to the Portuguese government to send a delegation to attend the meeting, which does not yet have a final date set.
Ho also remarked that the visiting delegation, accompanied by local entrepreneurs, and officials and entrepreneurs from the Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, following the Lisbon stop, is being led by the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, on a visit to Porto with Macau and Cooperation Zone investment opportunities on the agenda.
Macau after 2049 should remain as it is
Forecasting the potential changes to be enforced in future with the expiration of the Sino-Portuguese Joint Declaration on December 19, 2049, the CE said that he does not expect many changes in comparison with the current times.
“A system that has proven to be good, we don’t need to change it. So we trust that after 50 years the system will remain,” he said, noting that he expects that Macau will continue, beyond 2049, to have a different degree of autonomy and lifestyle when compared to other cities or regions in the mainland.
Ho Iat Seng meets UNWTO to develop tourism in Macau
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng has met the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, in Lisbon, to exchange views on issues including the upgrade of tourism cooperation between Macau and the UNWTO.
The CE expressed his desire to expand sources of international tourists in Macau, sharing his hope UNWTO would give greater support to reach this objective.
“UNWTO had been helping Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF) to bring tourism ministers from many overseas countries and regions to participate in the forum, making GTEF a well-known brand in the global tourism industry,” Ho said, adding that a “new memorandum of understanding between UNWTO and GTEF’s organizer would foster tourism business opportunities for Macau.”
For his part, Pololikashvili noted that Macau had a rich history and cultural heritage, which was an important factor for the success of GTEF.
“UNWTO already had an effective cooperation mechanism with the MSAR government and looked forward to even stronger collaboration with Macau in terms of education for tourism professionals, and in the field of community tourism,” the UNWTO official.
Secretary for Economy and Finance and executive chairman of GTEF Lei Wai Nong, who was also at the meeting, remarked that “elevated collaboration between UNWTO and GTEF would further contribute to the long-term sustainable development of the tourism sector globally, and related industries, as well as promoting the diversified development of Macau’s economy.” Staff Reporter
